Related Links

The web resources collected here are organized for easy browsing, but as information does not always fit neatly into single categories, it may be repeated in several locations. Some excellent Directories of Economics Links are included, which encompass every area of Economics. Several useful Non-Economics resources can be found under "Library, Bibliographic, and Quick Reference Links." Sites designated "Western only" connect to resources subscribed to by Western Libraries. For off-campus access to subscribed resources, log in to Western Libraries and search the catalogue or select the Research Tools tab and Databases. *Note that doing a traditional "Catalogue Search" will yield more effective results than simply using the all-purpose Search Box on the Library's homepage.*

Publications

Journals: Western users can download articles from subscribed journals

  • Directory of Open Access Journals:  Growing list of freely accessible journals. All journals exercise peer review or editorial quality control.
  • Journals Indexed in Econlit: Indicates Econlit's coverage dates and where full-text is available. Links to each journal's homepage.
  • JStor: Western only. Full-text journal articles. Coverage begins with first issue but may not extend to most recent issues. Now includes books. Off-Campus access: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "J".
  • Western Undergraduate Economics Review (WUER): Annual publication featuring papers written by undergraduate students in Economics at Western.
  • SHERPA/RoMEO:  RoMEO is a searchable database of publisher's policies regarding the self- archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories.

Working Papers

  • CEPR (Center for Policy Research) Discussion papers: Members can download full-text. Others may view abstracts and order papers for a fee.
  • EBSLG (European Business School Librarian’s Group): Provides access to electronic versions of European Working Papers in Business and Economics produced at major European Business Schools.
  • EconPapers: Using the huge RePEc database, EconBase provides information about print and online working papers and articles in Economics. Links users to publisher’s website for download or purchase information.
  • Fed in Print: Searchable catalogue of Federal Reserve publications. Links to online documents.
  • IDEAS (Internet Documents in Economics Access Service): Over 4,000 series, many of which are downloadable as full text. Run by Christian Zimmerman, using the RePEc database.
  • NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research): Western only. Download full-text NBER working papers and technical papers.  Off-campus: Log in and search in the catalogue under title "National Bureau of Economic Research."
  • RePEc (Research Papers in Economics): Collaborative initiative dedicated to the free dissemination of research in economics. Huge bibliographic database of papers classified by provider. Most are downloadable; contact information is provided for all series.
  • SSRN e-Library: Consists of an Abstracts Database and an Electronic Collection of downloadable full-text documents. Mostly free, but includes access to some fee based research.
  • Statistics Canada: Studies, research papers, and technical papers issued by Statistics Canada on a variety of subjects.
  • World Bank Documents and Reports: Downloadable working papers and other documents from the World Bank.
  • Western Economics’ Working Paper Archive:  The Department’s collection of working papers archived in Western’s open access repository, Scholarship @ Western. The papers date from 1970 to the present; the full-text is downloadable.

Dissertations

  • Dissertations & Theses: Full Text: Western only. Database of almost  all American dissertations from 1861 to present, with an increasing number of papers from Canada and abroad. Searchable by subject, title and author. Off-Campus: Log in, select Research Tool, Databases, "D".
  • Theses Canada Portal: From Library & Archives Canada. Provides access to full text of Canadian theses and dissertations; bibliographic records are available for dissertations not digitized yet.

Books

  • Archive for the History of Economic Thought: A large number of significant texts representing major thinkers, schools of thought and subfields. Includes interesting links, primarily historical but not exclusively economics.
  • Book Collections at IDEAS: Economics e-books from a variety of sources.
  • Classic Works in Economics and Political Economy: From SUNY-Oswego.
  • Handbooks in Economics: Western only. Full text of many of the volumes of Elsevier’s authoritative Handbooks series. Select 'Handbooks' tab for a list of titles. Off-Campus: Log in and search catalogue for desired title.
  • IMF E-Library. Western only. Browse or search the International Monetary Fund's vast catalogue of publications. Full text books, reports, periodicals and reports are downloadable as pdfs. Off-Campus: Log in and search the catalogue for 'IMF e-library'.
  • The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics: Western only. Encyclopedic in scope, Palgrave features articles by influential economists in their areas of expertise. The online version of the new 8 volume print edition includes quarterly updates, efficient browse and search features, hyperlinked cross references, and more. The standard reference for economists. Off-Campus: Log in and search catalogue.
  • World Bank Open Knowledge Repository:  Free access to a large number of books published by the World Bank and allied organizations.

Electronic Databases and Article Indexes

These databases are subscribed to by Western Libraries and are accessible to Western users only.

  • ABI/Inform Global Research: Indexes business, economics and politics journals and magazines. Abstracts are often available after 1971, and full-text from 1987. Off-campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "A".
  • CBCA Business: Provides access to a broad range of Canadian business periodicals. Off-Campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "C".
  • CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly): Articles with a Canadian focus from a comprehensive list of Canadian and international journals, newspapers, and magazines. Off-campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "C".
  • Current Index to Statistics: Indexes several hundred journals, books, and proceedings in the field of statistics, including some material dating back to 1900. Produced by The American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Off-campus: Log in and search catalogue.
  • Econlit: Produced by the American Economic Association, Econlit is the primary index for economics.  Access through Western Libraries with a catalogue Title Search or select Research Tools, Databases, "E". 
  • Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): A suite of full-text products providing a broad range of authoritative and up-to-date information, data and analysis. Covers economic and political conditions around the world. Off-campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "E".
  • Factiva: Joint venture between Dow Jones and Reuters, Factiva provides business news and information from around the world. Current news, historic articles, company reports and stock quotes. For help, see the Business Library's guide. Off-Campus: Log in, Select Research Tools, Databases, "F".
  • LexisNexis Academic: Full text access to newspapers, wire services and broadcast transcripts. Business news, industry, market and company information, SEC filings and reports. Off-campus: Select Research Tools, Database from 'L' Databases.
  • Web of Science/Social Sciences Citation Index: Indexes and abstracts a wide range of Social Science journals and proceedings. Includes both citations listed in an article (its bibliography) and citations to the article. This feature allows searches for articles which cite a known author or work. Off-campus: Log in, select Research, Databases, "W".

Data Sources

Canadian Data

U.S. Data

  • Bank Holding Company Data: Provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, quarterly income statements and balance sheets are available as SAS XPORT files. Includes documentation on forming consistent time-series to aid in understanding reporting changes which occurred from 1976-2000.
  • Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): An agency of the Department of Commerce, the BEA’s economic accounts provide information on economic growth, regional economic development, inter-industry relationships, and the U.S. position in the world economy.
  • Current Population Survey (CPS): A monthly survey of about 50,000 households, CPS is a primary source of information on the labour force characteristics of the U.S. population.
  • DataWeb: Brings together demographic, economic, environmental, health and other databases from a variety of agencies and organizations.
  • Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED): A database of over 450,000 economic time-series. Lets you download data to Excel or text files and view charts of data series.
  • Federal Reserve System National Information Center (NIC): Provides extensive information on banks and other institutions for which the Federal Reserve has regulatory, supervisory or research interest.
  • Integrated Public Use Micro-Data Series (IPUMS): A project of the University of Minnesota. U.S. and international census micro data for social and economic research. U.S. census data from 1850.
  • National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER): Data files available from NBER or from sources associated with the NBER research program, as well as NBER’s links to other data series.
  • National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH): Data released by the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the NSFH. A comprehensive survey of American family life.
  • Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID): From the Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan. A longitudinal survey begun in 1968 of a representative sample of US individuals and their family units. The focus is economic and demographic, with detailed income and employment data. PSID data can be used for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intergenerational analysis, and for studying both individuals and families.
  • U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics: Detailed statistical data on employment, wages, CPI, productivity and much more concerning labor in the U.S.
  • U.S. Census Bureau: A well organized homepage with links to a wide range of information about the U.S. population.

European Data

  • CESSDA (Council of European Social Science Data Archives): Promotes the acquisition, archiving and distribution of electronic data for social science research in Europe. Homepage provides easy access to member organizations’ catalogues.
  • Eurostat: As the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat provides statistics at the European level which allow comparisons between countries and regions. Contains catalogue of agency’s publications.
  • Nomis: Web-based database of U.K. labour market statistics run by Durham University on behalf of the Office of National Statistics.
  • UK Data Archive (UKDA): Largest collection of digital data in the U.K. Includes computerized historical material.
  • Eurostat: As the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat provides statistics at the European level which allow comparisons between countries and regions. Contains a catalogue of the agency’s publications.

Other International Data

  • Asia Studies Full-Text Online: Western only. Statistical information and thousands of full-text reports covering 53 countries. Off-Campus. Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "A".
  • Asian Development Bank: Statistical information on member countries. Economic analysis and publications on a variety of topics.
  • China Data Online: Western only. National, provincial and local statistics, industrial and census data, themed maps and atlases, and much more. Lots of previously hard-to-obtain information. Off-Campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "C".
  • China Health and Nutrition Survey: Cross-section data from this longitudinal study which was designed to see how the economic and social transformation of Chinese society is affecting the health and nutritional status of its population.
  • Europa World Plus: Western only. Online version of Europa World Yearbook. Covers economic and political information for over 250 countries and territories. Off-Campus: Log in and search the catalogue.
  • IMF E-Library: Data:  Western only. Provides access to the wide range of time series data published by the IMF.  The core databases -- International Financial Statistics, Balance of Payments Statistics, Direction of Trade Statistics, and Government Finance Statistics --  contain data on all aspects of foreign and domestic financial and economic activity for most countries of the world.  An extremely valuable resource. Off-Campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "I".
  • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Over 1,000 searchable statistics and indicators for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Operated from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. Western is a member of the consortium.
  • OECD Statistics Portal: Statistics by topic, country or department.
  • OffStats Official Statistics on the Web: From the University of Auckland library, up-to-date statistics from official sources around the world. Many time series available. Data often downloadable as text or spreadsheet files.
  • Penn World Tables: Provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 168 countries. From the Center for International Comparisons at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Rand Family Life Surveys: Detailed household and community surveys covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Guatemala and Bangladesh conducted by Rand Corp., in collaboration with research institutions from the countries involved.
  • Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey: Data from this household-based survey which was designed to measure the effects of Russian reforms on the economic well-being of Russian households and individuals.
  • Statistical Sites on the Worldwide Web: The U.S. Department of Labor’s list of links to statistical agencies around the world.
  • UNdata: Pools and provides free access to an enormous amount of statistical data collected by the UN over the years. Includes Country Profiles, and covers such topics as Population, Industry, Energy, Trade, and National Accounts.
  • World Bank Data Catalogue: A listing of available World Bank datasets, including databases, pre-formatted tables, reports, and other resources.
  • World Fact Book: CIA publication containing a wealth of up-to-date information on all the countries of the world.

Economics Departments, Associations and Societies

Economics Departments

Associations and Societies


Organizations

Canadian Organizations

  • C.D. Howe Institute: Provides analysis of economic and social issues affecting the quality of life of Canadians. Download or order publications from its extensive catalogue.
  • Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA): Home of the Alternative Federal and Provincial Budgets.
  • Conference Board of Canada:  Researches and analyses Canadian economic trends and public policy issues.  Western users have access to the vast number of research documents contained in its e-library.
  • Fraser Institute: A conservative public policy organization which promotes the free market, lower taxes, and a reduction of government regulation in economic and social affairs.
  • Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP): An independent organization which generates research, provides analysis, and initiates debate in an effort to improve both domestic and foreign public policy in Canada. Publisher of Policy Options.
  • International Development Research Centre (IDRC): IDRC is a Canadian crown corporation which works in collaboration with researchers from the developing world. Research areas include environmental and natural resource management, information and communication technology for development, and social and economic equity.
  • Think Tanks: A directory of Canadian and International Think Tanks from Hillwatch.com.

Other Organizations

  • APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation): An intergovernmental organization which works to reduce trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Brookings Institute: One of Washington’s oldest think tanks. Involved in research, analysis, and public education, with an emphasis on economics, foreign policy, governance, and metropolitan policy.
  • Institute for Fiscal Studies (London, England): Independent research organization which aims to promote effective economic and social policies through rigorous analysis of their impact on individuals, families, firms and the public finances. Rich source of UK information.
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF): Information about the IMF and its work. Financial data, country information and access to most of its publications.
  • NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research): A leading U.S. research organization committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research on a wide range of subjects. Rich source of data. Western users can download working papers.
  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): Comprised of 30 member countries and associated with 70 others, the OECD’s research covers a broad range of economic, technical and social subjects. Lots of information is downloadable for free. Western users have additional access to the Organisation’s catalogue through the library’s subscription to SourceOECD.
  • Rand Corporation: Conducts research which addresses social and economic issues facing the US, as well as national security issues and international affairs. Publications are downloadable for free as PDF files.
  • United Nations: Information about the UN and its activities. News, maps, data, country information, and publications.
  • World Bank: Information about the Bank’s projects and activities, country profiles, data and access to the World Bank Group's vast catalogue of publications.
  • World Resources Institute (WRI): Independent think tank which conducts research and makes proposals for policy change that will foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Data and some publications available for downloading.
  • World Trade Organization (WTO): An international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Information about the WTO, its history and its activities, including official documents. Lots of data, publications and educational resources concerning trade and development.

Government Sites

Canadian Government

U.S. Government

  • FDSys: A service of the Government Printing Office providing a large amount of official information, current and historical, produced by the U.S. government and its agencies. Search or Browse collections.
  • USA.gov: The U.S. government’s official web portal. A centralized gateway to a vast range of information, data and resources from local, state and federal departments and agencies.

Other Governments

  • Europa: Portal site of the European Union, providing access to all its component institutions and agencies. Information on EU objectives, activities and policies.

Resources by Topic

General Economics, Economics Education

  • AEAweb: Resources for Economists on the Internet (RFE): The premiere listing of Economics resources. Comprehensive, extremely well organized, and updated regularly. Edited by Bill Goffe and sponsored by the AEA.
  • Economics Graduate Studies: "A few tips culled from the web" by Christian Zimmerman to help students succeed. Includes job market information.
  • Higher Education Academy Economics Network: Provides a range of free resources that support university teachers of Economics.
  • Nobelprize.org Economics: Biographical information, interviews, papers.
  • Vox: A policy portal set up by CEPR and a consortium of European centres to promote research-based policy analysis. Provides a collection of columns and commentary on a wide range of topical subjects by leading economists.

Business, Commerce, Finance

  • Bloomberg:  Up-to-the-minute business news, financial information, and opinion pieces.
  • Campbell R. Harvey’s Hypertextual Financial Glossary: With over 8,000 entries and 18,000 hyperlinks, claims to be the largest financial glossary on the Internet.
  • Contingency Analysis: Information on Financial Risk Management, Trading and Financial Engineering. Maintained by Glyn Holton.
  • Investcom: Stock quotes, market news, company information, economic reports, links to Canadian Stock Exchanges. Site is somewhat difficult to navigate but has plenty of market information.
  • Mergentonline: Western only. Provides detailed, comprehensive and authoritative financial and business information on companies based around the world. Off-Campus: Log in, select Research Tools, Databases, "M".
  • Thomson ONE:  Western only. Must use Internet Explorer and access through Western Libraries. Provides market quotes, earnings estimates, financial fundamentals, press releases, transaction data, corporate filings, ownership profiles and research from Thomson Financial. Search the title in the library Catalogue or select  Research Tools, Databases, "T".

Computing and Software

  • C++: From Cambridge University, documentation and resources on C++ for beginners and advanced users.
  • CISER Online Computing Help: From Cornell’s Institute for Social and Economic Research. Provides information for users of SAS, Stata, GAUSS, MATLAB, FORTRAN, and more.
  • Netlib: A repository of freely available software, documents and databases of interest to the numerical, scientific, computing, and other communities. Maintained by AT&T Bell Laboratories, the University of Tennessee and Oakridge National Laboratory.
  • Resources to Help You Learn and Use Stata: Excellent collection of resources prepared by UCLA's Academic Technology Services.  Check Learning Modules and Classes and Seminars, some of which feature 'movies'.  Includes a search function for Stata commands.
  • Stata: Corporate, product, technical information and support.
  • Stata's Resouce Links: Links to outside tutorials and resources compiled and regularly updated by StataCorp.
  • Stata Tutorial: Introduction to Stata emphasizing data management and graphics. Complementary discussion of statistical models.

Demographics and Population

  • Census Portal, Statistics Canada: Data and information about Canadian population, households, families, and more.
  • National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS): A set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labour market activities of several groups of men and women. Resulting data have served as an important tool for researchers for over 3 decades. From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Population Reference Bureau: Provides up-to-date and objective information on international population trends and their implications. Data and publications on a wide range of topics.
  • Population Studies Center: Operated from the University of Michigan since 1961, PSC conducts population research in every region of the world.

Econometrics

Environment

  • International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD):  A Canadian-based institute specializing in policy research, analysis and information exchange in order to further global goals for sustainable development.
  • World Resources Institute (WRI): Offers a wide range of statistical, graphic and analytical information related to environmental, social and economic trends that shape our world. Data is gathered from leading statistical agencies and made available for free in easily accessible formats.

Game Theory, Experimental, Evolutionary Economics

Economic History

  • Cliometric Society:  An organization of individuals interested in the use of economic theory and statistical techniques to study economic history.  News and announcements, and an archive of the newsletters reporting on the latest research and featuring interviews with outstanding scholars.
  • European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET): While parts of the site are restricted to members, much of it can be browsed by visitors. Links include an Electronic Texts Archive.
  • History of Economic Thought Website: Attractive site, now archived, created by Gonçalo Fonensca at the New School for Social Research. Features Economists, Schools of Thought, Essays and Surveys on special topics, and an extensive list of links.
  • McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought: The late Rod Hay's collection of significant texts in the history of economic thought representing major thinkers, schools of thoughts and economics subfields. Includes of a list of interesting links.
  • EH.Net: Offers plenty of resources to economic historians, including directories, calendar of events, book reviews, databases and abstracts.
  • The Business History Conference: Aims to encourage all aspects of research, writing, and teaching about business history and about the environment in which businesses operate. Extensive bibliographies, teaching and research resources.

History of Economic Thought

  • History of Economic Thought Website: Attractive site, now archived, created by Gonçalo Fonensca at the New School for Social Research. Features Economists, Schools of Thought, Essays and Surveys on special topics, and an extensive list of links.
  • McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought: The late Rod Hay's collection of significant texts in the history of economic thought representing major thinkers, schools of thoughts and economics subfields. Includes of a list of interesting links.

Industry, Industrial Organization

International Economics, Development, Growth

  • AccessUN: Western only. The premier index to the documents and publications of the United Nations. Thousands are available in full text. Off-Campus access: Log in, select Research, Databases, "A".
  • Bretton Woods Project: The initiative of a group of British NGOs, the Bretton Woods Project acts as an information provider and watch dog, monitoring the projects, policies and overall management of the World Bank and IMF. Emphasis on environmental and social concerns.
  • Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO): Western only. Comprehensive full-text source for theory and research in international affairs. Includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, conference proceedings, books, journals, policy briefs and case studies. Off-Campus access: Log in, select Research, Databases, "C".
  • Eldis Gateway to Development Information: Hosted by the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, Eldis provides thousands of full text documents, subject specific research guides and country profiles.
  • Peterson Institute for International Economics: A private, non-partisan research institute devoted to the study of international economic policy. Emphasizes global macroeconomic topics, international money and finance, trade and related social issues. Working papers, policy briefs, news releases on emerging issues.
  • World Bank: Topics in Development: Part of the World Bank site, covering over 200 topics in development. Lots of data, publications, maps.

Labour

  • Centre for Human Capital & Productivity (CHCP): CHCP, in the Economics Department at Western, studies issues related to human capital and productivity. Working papers and Policy Briefs can be downloaded from the Centre’s website.
  • Institute for Research on Labor and Employment: An affiliate of the University of California at Berkeley, the IRLE supports multidisciplinary research on all aspects of labour and employment relations. Full text publications and working papers.
  • International Institute of Social History: From Amsterdam, the IISH maintains a collection of resources for the labour historian.
  • ILOSTAT: The ILO’s central statistics database, ILOSTAT contains over 100 indicators covering more than 230 countries.

Money & Banking

  • Bank of Canada: Home page of Canada’s national bank. Information, news, publications, data, careers, and more.
  • EDIRC: Central Banks, Monetary Authorities: Christian Zimmerman’s worldwide directory.
  • Federal Reserve Sites: Links to the District banks’ and the Board of Governors’ home pages. From SUNY-Oswego.
  • A History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present: Web site based on information from the book by Glyn Davies, put together by Roy Davies. Well presented, lots of information.
  • International Journal of Central Banking: Primary objectives of the ICJB are to disseminate the best policy-relevant and applied research on central banking, and to promote communication among researchers inside and outside of central banks. Free full-text articles.

Jobs and Funding Opportunities

Jobs

Funding


Library, Bibliographic and Quick Reference Links

Libraries

  • Western Libraries: Western’s excellent library system consists of the D.B. Weldon Library and several other more specialized libraries. Its website, as well as providing useful information about the library and its services, is a gateway to a wealth of electronic resources accessible to Western users from the university or from home. Economics Research Guide.
  • C.B. "Bud" Johnston Library: Formerly The Business Library. Books and journals may be signed out by all Western users. Subscribes to a myriad of specialized Business and Finance databases. Help Guides to Databases, Statistics, Company Information, and much more are also available on their website.

Economics Classification

Citation, Style, Grammar Guides

  • Chicago Manual of Style Online: Western only. The electronic version of the 16th edition of the manual. Off-Campus: Log in and search catalogue.
  • Style Guides: Western Libraries’ guidelines on how to cite references. Includes citing government publications. Covers styles for all disciplines, not just Economics or Social Science.
  • How to Cite Statistics: Useful guide designed for Statistics Canada's products, but applicable to most statistical resources.
  • Reference Desk: Grammar and Style: A variety of citation, grammar and writing guides, including proposal writing resources.
  • Writing Tips for Ph. D. Students: An excellent guide from John Cochrane of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Includes tips for empirical work and advice on seminar presentations.

General Reference

  • The Time Now.com: A nifty site with many features. Includes a world clock, calendars, international dialing codes, and much more.
  • Universal Currency Converter: XE’s currency site contains a lot of information about money and currency, as well as its comprehensive currency converter.
  • WordReference.com: French-, Spanish-, Italian-, and many other languages-English dictionaries, and the reverse. Translates words, terms, idioms. Now includes Asian languages and Arabic.